William maesh



.2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(ModeL) W. MARSH.

TRUSS.

No. 391,480. Patented Oct. 23, 1888.

M'lnesseS- Photo-Lithographer. Washington, a, c.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

(ModeL) W. MARSH.

TRUSS.

N0. 391,480. Patented Oct. 23 1888.

N. PETERS, Pho\o-Lnnogr:pher. Washington. In:

ONITED TATES WILLIAM MARSH, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

TRUSS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 391,480, dated October23, 1888.

Application filed September 3, 1887. Serial No. 245,764. (ModeL) To allwhom, it may concern:

Beit known that I, WILLIAM MARsH, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Trusses, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to an impervious adjustable skeleton truss withdetachable conipressed cushion pads, intended to be employed for thecure or relief of hernia.

The purpose of the invention is to provide a truss which can be quicklychanged from a soft padded one (by detachable pads) into a trusssuitable for water or bathing purposes, the skeleton being coated withan impervious material.

Further, the object of the invention is to provide a truss lighter inweight than those at present in use, and at the same time retain theimportant feature of durability. The frame or skeleton of the trussbeing open allows better ventilation to the body.

The practical manner of carrying out my invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a side view, shown partially in cross-section, of theadjustable skeleton and baclcpads, showing the same in their normalcondition. Fig. 2 is a back view ofthebackpads, 'in which the dottedlines represent the position of the two pad-frames when in theirextended position. Fig. 3 shows the guard through which passes thepressure-spring of the truss. Fig. 4 is a view in cross-section of thecompressed soft pad secured to the impervious hard pad, both of which,considered together, form what may be termed the rupturepad. Means forfastening the pad to the spring are also shown. Fig. 5 is a back view ofthe trusspad when secured to the spring. Fig. 6 is a perspective view,partially in outline, of the truss, some of the less important parts ofthe device being omitted.

The-back of the truss consists of the combination of two parallel tubes,A, connected rigidly at their central pointsby a yoke, a, to which isattached a spring, I, of the truss, a

.framesupport, B, for each of the back-pads O, and consisting of a rodhaving one end in serted in one of the tubes A, the other end insertedin the other tube, and having its mid dle portion bent into the form ofan arc of a circle greater than a semicircle; a connectingpiece, 1),connecting diametrically-opposite points in said rod and secured to a.back-pad; a guard, D, mounted upon said rod for the spring to passthrough, and the usual strap, which is not shown, secured to theconnecting-piece a.

The pressure-spring of the truss consists of two parallel strips, I and6, connected at their ends and at intervals between their ends byconnecting-pieces Z, the said spring being stamped from a single pieceof metal. In order to preserve the spring from the injurious action ofwater,I cover the same with awaterproof coating, such as hard rubber.The ends of the spring are provided each with three holes, so that bymeans of a suitable screwfastening the length of the spring between thebackpads and the truss'pads may be regulated.

The truss-pad consists of the combination of a soft pad, F, having theshape approximately of a hollow sphere or ellipsoid, and produced bysubjecting felt, wool, or similar soft fibrous materiahto pressure in amold until it retains the shape named; a second pad, L, having ap--proximately the same shape, but a little smaller, fitting inside of thesoft pad and made of a substance impervious to water, such as celluloid,hard rubber, or ivory; an annular disk, M, secured to an annularprojection, N, of the soft pad F; a disk, G, secured to the spring ofthe truss,and fastening-pins P, passing through holes Q in the disk G,through holes in an annular projection to the pad L, and adapted by anywell-known construction to secure in a removable manner the soft pad tothe hard pad, and a suitable leather covering, E, applied to the convexsurface of the soft pad.

The modus opercmd'i of the invention is as follows: When the truss issupported by the body so that the rupture-pad presses upon the point ofrupture, the patient can extend the.

back-pads to that position which is the most comfortable without in anyway being obliged to employ a screw-driver or any other tool. The padsremain as placed because the ends of the frame B are elastic, and whenremoved spread apart farther than the distance between the tubes A. Thetruss need not be first removed from the body in order to adjust thepads. Those portions of the tubes A on each side of the yoke a mayspread out from each other, if desired; but I prefer to have themapproximately parallel, as shown.

Heretofore springs for trusses have been formed of a single fiat stripor band of steel. I gain greater strength, greater stiffness for theamount of steel employed, and a more ornamental spring by constructingit as hereinbefore described. By doing away with all unnecessary steelan agreeable ventilation is obtained in the place of a band of steellying against the body. However, if desired, a strip of leather, K, maybe secured to the under side of the spring. As this truss is intendedespecially for bathing purposes, I prefer to omit the leather K, andcover each strip I and z with hard rubber or similar substance, whichmay be rapidly dried.

The soft elastic pad F may be detached before bathing and only the pad,L, impervious to water employed.

I lay :no claim to the means of fastening the said parts F, L, and Gtogether, as such means are well known in the art of mechanics.

The connection between the pads O and tubes A may be, for the sake ofconvenience and distinction, termed a frictional connection and also amovable frictional connection.

The back-pads C, if removed from the frames B, leave the frames B topress against the body during bathing. The said pads may be fastened tothe frame in any convenient manneras, for instance, by a screw. Theframes B, constructed as hereinbefore described, press againstapproximately the same amount of the surface of the body as do thecushionpads, and therefore the feeling is comfortable to the patient. Asthe frames B serve not only as frames, but as pads, they may also becalled pads. If the patient does not care to take the time to unscrewthe cushion-pads C from the frames B, he can pull the pads away fromeach other and employ the tubesA as the part to rest upon the back.

As shown in the drawings in Fig. 4, a space of about one-sixteenth of aninch is left between the impervious pad L and the cushionpad F, so as toobtain a superior softness and elasticity. The strap K is removed duringbathing.

The impervious pad L may be replaced by a filling or stuffing of fibrousmaterial, such as wool or hair.

The annular disk M, heretofore mentioned, consists of a piece ofpasteboard or similar stiff and light material and fastened to the rimor projection N of the soft pad, for the purpose of stiffening the saidpad and assisting it to retain its form, especially when not in use.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, with the pressurespring ofa hernia-truss, of an adjustable frictional connection between theback-pads of the truss and said spring, consisting of tubes carried bythe saidspring and rods fitting into the tubes and carried by the pads.

2. In a hernia-truss, the combination of two approximately paralleltubes connected rigidly by a yoke which is secured to the presslire-spring of the truss, and back-pads pro vided with elasticprojecting rods and fitting into said tube.

3. A hernia-truss provided with a truss-pad impervious to water and witha cushion-pad detachabl y applied to said impervious pad.

4. In a hernia-truss, a pressurespring consisting of two strips of steelsecured at their ends to each other, and also at intervals between theirends, and stamped from a single piece of material.

5. As an article of manufacture, the combination of a compressedapproximately hemispherical hollow pad of soft and elastic material, afilling of fibrous material located in the said hemisphere, and anannular disk applied to a projection of the said hemisphere, the saidprojection forming an integral part ofthehemisphere.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed myname, in presence of two witnesses, this 29th day of August; 1887.

WM. MARSH. Witnesses: I

H. BAUsHE, B. G. RADOLIFFE.

